NHTSA is moving forward with an investigation into failing headlights on the Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis after an earlier defect petition. It now has a preliminary evaluation into the problem.

A consumer advocacy group in North Carolina wants NHTSA to re-open its investigation into front lighting failures on the Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis. The agency alleges that the problem is still occurring, and Ford dealers are not keeping the parts in stock.

US safety regulators have closed a pair of investigations into some 500,000 Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Marauder sedans built between 2004 to 2007, and 100,000 Chevrolet Impala models from 2014.

Back in college, I was the house and risk manager for my fraternity. As you can imagine, this was a stressful job, as I was forced to monitor not only the many idiotic whims of my brothers, but the potential impact those ideas had on our house.

There may be more steering woes for the Ford Crown Victoria. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary evaluation into the Crown Vic and Mercury Grand Marquis from the 2004 to 2007 model years and the Mercury Marauder for the 2004 and 2005 model years because the steering shaft can jam. The issue could potentially affect an estimated 500,000 vehicles.

A growing number of states are starting to adopt "move over" laws to help protect emergency workers, and this video posted by the Massachusetts State Police on its Facebook page shows the importance of said laws. Captured by a traffic camera in the Thomas P O'Neill Jr. Tunnel in Boston, the video shows a trooper alerting traffic of upcoming lane closures and a small black car (shown above) narrowly missing hitting the cruiser at a high rate of speed.

The Detroit News is reporting that Ford will recall some 370,000 Crown Victoria (pictured), Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car vehicles from model years 2005 through 2011, for an issue regarding the lower intermediate steering shaft. 355,000 of the vehicles in question were sold in the US, with the other 15,000 sold in Canada.

Our report on the newly EcoBoosted Ford Police Interceptor Utility (Explorer to the rest of us), had a segment on the need for more space in police vehicles, due to the amount of equipment officers need to carry on a day-to-day basis. Judging by the comments from that post, there are some who question that reasoning.

Reuters reports that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating certain Ford Crown Victoria, Porsche 911 and Dodge Viper models for potential defects. NHTSA is currently looking into 2005-2008 Crown Victoria police car models for steering column failures that could cause the upper and lower portions of the steering shaft to separate. Such a condition would lead to a loss of control. So far there are 195,000 vehicles involved with 15 warranty claims.

This past Friday, police officers form the unfortunately named White Settlement, TX responded to a break-in at an antique store. The police arrived to catch Darren Porter in the act, arrested him, and put him in secure custody in the back of a cruiser... or so they thought.

One of the major side effects of the power outrages in New York and New Jersey following hurricane Sandy is gas stations' difficulty getting fuel to customers. Shortages have led to seemingly endless gas lines, and in all of this, hybrids have shown their inherent value.

Recently the Caledonia, Minn. Police Department took delivery of a new Ford Crown Victoria (curiously, CV production ended in September of 2011) police cruiser. This got the attention of not only the local criminals, but it apparently piqued the interest of the Houston County Sheriff's Department, too.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into complaints involving steering column shafts that can separate on Police Interceptor versions of the Ford Crown Victoria. An official recall has not been issued yet, but a separated steering column could be dangerous in that it would cause the driver to lose all steering control of the vehicle. Fortunately, there have been no reported crashes or injuries associated with this issue.

The Crown Vic is out. That means criminals are going to have to get used to a new light pattern lurking in the dark. Police departments across America are upgrading their transportation and equipping their new rides with modern crime-busting tech to make their lives easier, and ours safer.

One would think that with all the technology at modern society's disposal, we would have come up with solutions to the world's persistent troubles by now. Famine would be a thing of the past. War nothing but a dark spot on our history and disease just a whisper of recollection. Sadly, that just isn't the case.

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